Adapted from novels by celebrated Chinese writer Su Tong. Zuo Lin, a poor bow-legged boy, has a small dream – to ride a zebra across the busiest part of the city. Zuo Lin’s transition from an unhappy rider of a rocking-horse, through a happy zebra-rider and a sorrowful hussar officer, to a beaming paper horse rider makes for an absorbing film with a grand narrative. Yet, on the surface, it’s a popular story – girlfriend of a trust fund kid tries to help her boyfriend trick Zuo Lin, but ends up falling in love with him.